The first was in February 1861 as president-elect. He arrived by train, passed through Public Square and addressed a crowd from the balcony of Weddell House, a hotel since replaced by the Rockefeller office building, at the northwest corner of Superior Avenue and West Sixth Street. Lincoln's message, on the eve of the Civil War, stressed national unity. He left the next day from Union Depot, the predecessor to Cleveland Union Terminal.

His second visit was his funeral tour April 28, 1865, some two weeks after his assassination. He arrived by train again, this time from Buffalo. His body was visible in an open casket at a pagoda on Public Square. Lines formed on either side, and by the end of the day, 90,000 people had paid their respects. His body was taken to Columbus before the longer trip home to burial grounds in Springfield, Ill.

Members of the Association of Lincoln Presenters -- some 160 top-hatted impersonators across the country -- are still buzzing about Steven Spielberg's film "Lincoln" and will be for some time.

"The movie was very powerful," said Robert Brugler of Worthington, one of eight association members in Ohio. "And Daniel Day-Lewis got Lincoln right."

Like the actor known for his meticulous methods, these presenters vigorously study our 16th president and his campaign for the 13th Amendment, which outlawed slavery. They, too, trim their beards into prominence and stay in character for long periods of time.

Unlike Day-Lewis, they are not trained actors. They are former teachers and businessmen who happen to be tall and full of stories. Each is dedicated to a man they call our greatest president. An application process tests their knowledge and references.

They appear at fairs, schools and grand openings and, come April, they will gather for an annual convention, this time in Columbus. Abes are expected to be joined by Mary Lincolns and Frederick Douglasses. (Go to lincolnpresenters.net.)

The meeting will include a public performance of the farce, "Our American Cousin," the play Lincoln was watching on April 14, 1865, when he was assassinated at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. A Lincoln presenter will be in the audience when a gunshot goes off. History will be explained, and the play resumed.

"We haven't chosen who will get the seat of honor yet," said Brugler, who is helping to organize the event.

"But one of us will be told to just sit back, relax and don't worry about a thing."

Robert Brugler is a college computer instructor from Worthington.Courtesy Robert Brugler

Robert Brugler

College computer instructor

Worthington

"My birthday is one day after Mr. Lincoln's birthday, and in first grade they had a party for President Lincoln. I thought it was for me. . . .

"I'm now his height and I've had my beard for 40 years. I have to dye it. . . .

"Sometimes I come to class dressed as Lincoln. Someone once texted that they just saw Abraham Lincoln. . . .

"I like that he compromised as a politician. I think we need to compromise, to take the bitter medicine to get the greater good done. He twisted arms, too. . . .

"More people are contacting me for work since the movie. And now people are saying, 'Howdy, Abe,' instead of, 'You are the tallest leprechaun I've ever seen.' "

John Cooper says the new "Lincoln" movie played a little loose with the facts, but that he generally liked it. "I survived the Abraham Lincoln vampire movie. I can survive this one.Courtesy Nate Ellis

John Cooper

Retired account specialist, U.S. Dept. of Defense

Baltimore, Ohio

"The movie is getting good reviews from all of us Lincolns. We thought it was relatively accurate, although it sometimes played loose with the facts. For one thing, we do not believe he blasphemed. He was a religious man, so it would have been out of character. . . .

"I appeared at the opening of the Akron-Canton airport. I avoided using the word 'airplane.' Instead, I called it a newfangled form of transportation. . . .

"I can talk as Lincoln for 30 minutes without a single note. It's easy for me to get into it. I start telling stories at the dinner table, and my kids say things like, 'Dad's gone Lincoln on us again.' . . .

"I survived the Abraham Lincoln vampire movie. I can survive this one."

Gerald A. Payn of Wooster says it is a "great privilege and honor to pretend to be Abraham Lincoln."Courtesy Gerald A. Payn

Gerald A. Payn

Retired schoolteacher

Wooster

"I'm the same height as Lincoln, 6 feet 4 inches. By the way, Daniel Day-Lewis was 2 1/2 inches too short. I have to darken my whiskers and darken my eyebrows, too. And I use a toupee. . . .

"I've had many people tell me I had the voice for Lincoln, but it's well-documented that he had a high tenor, one that carried well in a crowd. . . .

"It's a great privilege and honor to pretend to be Abraham Lincoln. He added so much to our lives. I don't think the movie is going to change anything, although one scene shows Lincoln leaving the White House walking in a peculiar way, slumped over and flat-footed. It's a minor thing, but I might see if I'm able to portray that."

Philip Williamson of Walton Hills has been playing Lincoln so long he's on his second top hat.Courtesy Philip Williamson

Philip Williamson

Retired heating and ventilation distributor

Walton Hills

"There's a ham in me. Some of the other guys take it more seriously. But Lincoln had a great sense of humor and told many stories that involved a lesson to be learned. . . .

"I steal my wife's mascara to darken my beard, and I'm on my second top hat. I ordered it from California, an absolute duplicate of what Lincoln wore. . . .

"I've read a lot about Lincoln, and historical society audiences have said I'm accurate. But I also know how to get out of answering a question. I guess I do what many politicians do. . . .

"There's a joke in the movie about an outhouse that I've been telling for five years. Fortunately, I have another joke."

Mel Maurer of Westlake: "Playing Lincoln, for me, comes with a sense of great responsibility and a high degree of sadness."Courtesy Mel Maurer

Mel Maurer

Retired information services manager

Westlake

“I liked the movie. The way Lincoln has been portrayed up to now was as a godlike father. You never got to know him as a human being. This showed him as a godfather, and a tough politician. . . .

“I’m 5-foot-10 and I found lifts to put in my boots to make me 6-foot-3. I purchased a flock coat, tuxedo shirt, top hat. Normally I wear a beard but last year I grew a beard for most of the year. I don’t have to worry about the thing falling off. . . .

“Playing Lincoln, for me, comes with a sense of great responsibility and a high degree of sadness. I try to inject a lot of Lincoln’s humor because I feel it was his way of handling the sadness. He was criticized for that, but said, ‘I laugh because I cannot cry.’ That was brilliant.”

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